Taste of Olympus
by rosyredlipstick
Summary: "Welcome to Taste of Olympus." The teenage boy greeted him, sighing loudly and a tad overdramatically before continuing in the same dull voice, "Where every bite is like a taste of the heavens. I'm Nico, what do you want." Nico di Angelo is a waiter, working the morning shift, and kind of hates his job. Will Solace is hungry, just got out of work, and really just wants some food.


"Welcome to Taste of Olympus." The teenage boy greeted him, sighing loudly and a tad overdramatically before continuing in the same dull voice, "Where every bite is like a taste of the heavens. I'm Nico, what do you want."

The end of his sentence was hard and straight – more like an order then a question. Will bit his lip and swiped his bangs off of his forehead. He shifted in his uncomfortable, stiff scrubs and leaned forward to pull the laminated menu closer. "Oh, um, is there a special or anything?"

Will fumbled with the menu as his waiter – Nico – sighed once again, "Our specials today are Demeter's Delicious Chopped Dill Salad and Persephones Pomegrante Pie. Figure out yet?"

"Um…" Will glanced up and was embarrassed to notice how attractive his waiter was. "Uh, just get me Apollo's Early Riser breakfast please. And coffee, please." Nico busied himself with scratching out his order before turning away without a goodbye. Will sighed and let his lingering eyes distract himself a bit on Nico's retreating figure. He wore a black polo decorated with little silver skulls – probably the uniform by the looks of the other wait staff. A tall guy with unruly hair sprinted by – his own light green polo covered in tiny tridents. Will eyed Nico once more. But It seemed that Nico's own sinfully tight jeans were all his own. Will rubbed at his tired eyes and tried to pull his thoughts away from his barely interested waiter.

Nico swept by once more, barely pausing as he set Will's mug of steaming coffee on his table. He didn't spare a glance at Will as he sprawled into the booth across from Will.

Will took a long, much needed drink of his bitter coffee. The clinic had been unexpectedly busy this shift – he was surprised he managed to get off before the morning turned into double digits. He glanced at his watch. Well, barely. He flipped over his phone to read through some texts – mostly from Cecil and Lou Ellen – but refrained from replying. In the corner of his phone screen, the little battery icon burned a harsh red that prevented him from attempting anything.

He shot a look over to Nico – who was now scrolling through his own phone. The tired line of his shoulders brought the taste of exhaustion that Will was very familiar with.

"Long morning?" Will questioned, playing with the paper wrapper from his straw.

Nico glanced up, surprised but also slightly annoyed. He shrugged, "Been here since 5."

Will winced, "That sucks. I was a waiter in college – breakfast could be the absolute worst."

Nico looked back to his phone, already checked out of the conversation. Will sighed quietly and went back to his almost dead phone. Maybe he could send a few texts before it decided to go out.

"What do you do?" Nico asked suddenly, so quietly that Will thought he was talking to someone else. Will turned and was surprised to see Nico staring at him.

"Oh, me? Oh, uh, I volunteer at the clinic on North." He jutted a thumb over his shoulder like Nico would be able to see it. "But I work at the hospital downtown."

Nico nodded and kept his eyes glued to the screen of his phone, "What do you do there?"

"I'm a Pediatrician, but I specialize in neonatal care."

Nico raised an eyebrow, bringing his eyes up to meet Will's. "And you think I know what that means because…?"

Will laughed, "It means I work with babies."

Nico swept a hand through the air, "That's all you had to say."

Will scrunched up his nose, "But it doesn't sound nearly as fancy."

That startled a quiet, rough laugh from the other boy. Nico set his phone on the table and glanced back to Will, evidently giving Will his full attention. Will felt a little nervous at the attention, and bit his lip again.

Nico stared at him for a second longer before breaking his gaze. "What's your name?"

"Will Solace." He answered, taking a drink of his coffee. He made a face and began to rip sugar packets open to pour into the bitter liquid.

"Solace, like the sun?" Nico questioned. Before he could answer Nico simply snorted and sat up a bit, "You'd fit in great around here. After Lee quit, we're short an Apollo waiter."

Will laughed, "So everyone's suppose to be a Greek god?"

"Or goddess." Nico corrected, nodding over to blonde girl with a gray polo and little owls on her shirt, "But yeah, it's mostly the 12 main ones, but there are a few others."

"So you're Hades?" Will questioned, taking a small sip of his drink – finding it much more pleasant now that it was basically sludge with sugar.

Nico gave him a long look, "What in the world gave you that idea?" he questioned in a dry voice. Will laughed unexpectedly.

"Probably your cheerful manor. It's trademark, yeah? It's what people know you by?" he answered, grinning widely.

Nico scowled, but his eyes were dancing happily. Will laughed and launched into a story.

"-And then after that whole fiasco the operation is finally done and I'm ready to just go home and rest for the rest of forever. So right before I leave I go and talk to the patient's family about the operation and – after a long questioning session in which I revealed that no, the appendix does not grow back and it actually does nothing at all – the family demands I put it back!" Will threw his hands in the air and enjoyed how loudly Nico was laughing into his elbow – "Like they fully, one hundred percent expected me to whole heartedly agree with them and put their son back on the table and just put the organ back."

Nico looked up at him – his cheeks red with laughter and his eyes glowing with mirth. "Well? Did you?"

Will gave him a wide-eyed look, "Why, yes, of course I did. I am a servant to the common person, screw my years of med school." Will nodded sarcastically, "They wanted, so I did."

Nico's laugh was interrupted by a sharp ding. "Order up!" a voice yelled.

Nico sighed loudly, like the ding was a reminder he was supposed to be doing his job. "That's probably yours."

Will nodded and grinned, "Then you should probably go get that."

Nico rolled his eyes goodheartedly and stretched, giving Will a full view of his low hanging jeans. Will dragged his eyes from Nico's sharp hips before Nico could glance down.

"I'll be right back." Nico told him, rolling his shoulders.

He nodded, still a little numb from the small exposure to Nico's perfect hips. He swallowed another gulp of his now cool coffee.

Nico soon returned, now carrying a large black tray with Will's food on it.

"And now," Nico sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically, "A feast fit for the gods."

Will laughed, "Do you have to do that with every customer?"

Nico groaned, "Sadly. Here, take your food."

Will accepted the plates Nico put in front of him and grinned up at the other boy.

"Can I get you anything else, Will Solace?" Nico questioned, leaning closer, "I can get you anything you want."

Will swallowed, "Um. This. This – uh, this is good. Thank you." He choked out, his cheeks reddening.

Nico grinned and bit his lip, "Shout if you need anything." He told Will, cocking out his hip, "I'll be in the back."

Will gave him a weak salute before turning to devour his food. His growling stomach was soothed by the scrambled eggs and toasts. He briefly turned to his barely alive phone, managing to send quick texts to Cecil and Lou confirming that, yes, he was still alive and breathing before the phone could shut off. He made a face at the power off screen before pushing it away and inhaling the rest of his food quickly.

He saw Nico sitting on the counter across the restaurant, his long legs dangling over the title. He caught Will's eye and nodding shyly before turning back to the brunette he was talking to. Will's cheeks burned in embarrassment at being caught.

Right before Will could take the last few bites of his hash browns Nico comes around again, this time carrying a small porcelain plate.

"Someone sent pie for you." He mumbled, strangely quiet, before placing a heavenly looking piece of strawberry pie in front of him. Without having to ask, he refilled Will's coffee cup.

Will grinned in surprise, "Really? Who?" He bit his lip and felt a pleasant blush reddening his cheeks, "I didn't think that was a thing outside of the movies."

Nico shrugged and avoided Will's gaze, his own pale cheeks coloring. The light mood and smiles from earlier were gone now – replaced with fidgeting and a nervous jump in the air.

"Need anything else?" Nico asked, clenching at the black tray. His pale arms were on display in the short sleeve polo and his lean muscles were visible as his grip on the trap tightened. Will swallowed and forced a grin.

"Nope," Will smiled up at him and ended the word in a pop, "I'm good."

Nico nodded and hurried away, the silver little skulls printed on his shirt sparkling under the bright white lighting.

Will turned back to the pie, genuine surprise and happiness at the gesture. He took a small bite of the sweet fruit and groaned at the lovely taste. The whip cream had soaked perfectly into the warm crust and the thick syrup of the strawberries blended nicely with the sweetness of the cream. He glanced around, eager to find out the sender. But a quick look around only revealed an elderly couple, a middle-aged woman with an infant, and a young man who looked more interested in his open laptop then Will's dessert.

His eyes skimmed over the thin crowd before finally landing on Nico – who looked away quickly. Will glanced away before catching sight of the guy on his laptop. The man smiled a bit before returning back to his food. He was cute – nice, dark hair with even darker skin and thick frames that rested in his hair. He rubbed at his eyes before flipping the glasses down and Will looked away to hide his gaze. The man was attractive – but Will's personal type leaned towards Nico's skinny jeans and small smiles.

Nico came back, a receipt in one hand and a coffee pot in the other. He seemed nervous but grinned at Will a little coyly. "How was the pie?" He asked, his gaze low.

Will grinned up at him, "It's delicious. Could you tell whoever sent it I said thank you?" Will told him politely, glancing back at the man, who was engrossed in his laptop.

Nico stiffened and quickly held out the slip of paper, "You can pay up front."

Will deflated a bit, his wide grin feeling a little stiff. Nico's playful manner from earlier was completely gone now, replaced by a stony annoyance. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. Thanks."

Nico nodded before walking off with Will's empty breakfast plate. Will finished his pie quickly, eating it more just to be polite, and scooped up the slip of paper quickly. The guy didn't look up as Will passed and Will kept his head down.

"Hi." He told the cashier shortly, passing along his receipt.

The cashier – adorned with tacky lightning bolts across his polo – popped his gum before giving Will a bored look. "What are you doing?"

Will blinked, "Um. Paying? My waiter told me to pay up here."

He snorted, and Will caught sight of his nametag – Jason. "I bet he did." Jason mumbled under his breath. He stared at Will for a moment, ignoring his receipt entirely, before speaking.

"Look, here's the thing – Nico is a really, very terrible waiter." Will opened his mouth to argue but Jason continued on, "You really don't understand – he's horrible at it. Mostly because he hates it - but also because he doesn't like taking orders from people which, I mean, that's literally the entire job. The only reason he still has a job is because my dad owns the place and he's my best friend. We usually just stick him in the back but Frank called off so we were short."

"He was good." Will argued, feeling defensive for a boy he hardly even knew, "We talked for a while and he got me coffee without me asking and my food didn't take long at all."

"That's the thing." Jason leaned over the counter and balanced on his elbows. "He was fucking fantastic today."

Will shrugged, "Maybe he just got better at it."

Jason blew air up into his bangs and looked mildly annoyed, "Nico always has to pick the cute but short a few eggs, doesn't he?"

"Hey," Will protested, mildly offended, but then Jason's words caught up to him. "Wait, what? What about Nico?"

Jason popped his gum again, "We don't send pie. It's like, a rule. It's confusing and not worth it and half the time the waiters don't communicate with each other if it gets sent to a customer in another section and sometimes the receipts get messed up so we don't do it."

Will cocked his head to the side, "But I…"

Jason blew a bubble, "We don't send pie." He pounded the keys of the cash register a few times before giving Will an obvious look. "Your change is 5.34. And don't forget to tip your waiter." He nodded towards Nico, who was sprawled across his booth looking moody, tapping frantically into his phone.

Will stood there, frozen, for a few seconds, just clenching at the crumbled dollar bills and change Jason has passed along. It wasn't until a short waitress with a long braid passed by with a wink that Will snapped out of the information overload that Jason had thrown on him.

"Wait." Will shoved his change into his pocket before holding up a hand, "He totally got all cold shoulder on me though? Like I thought we had chemistry and I was gonna bring it up but then he totally just shut me out?"

Jason nodded sympathetically, "That's Nico. He reads into stuff too much." He waved his hand in a dismissing gesture, "He just likes to ruffle his own feathers, that's all."

Will bit his lip, "Are you sure?"

Jason grinned before pulling out a small shiny rectangle, "Of course I am. Now take some gum, you're breath smells like bacon."

Will chewed the gun quickly as he walked towards Nico's direction. Nico glanced up at him, the glow of his phone lighting up his face, and looked away quickly.

"Hey, uh, I forgot your tip." Will fished the change out of his pocket and set it on the table.

Nico shrugged, his eyes unmoving where they stayed glued to his phone, "Just leave it there."

Will hesitated a moment before pulling out a card. "Here."

Nico eyed his extended arm, "What is that?" he asked suspiciously as he sat up and took the card from him.

"It's my number." Will shifted uncomfortably, "If you uh, wanted to meet up sometime." Will grinned a little shyly and dunked his head, "Maybe we could get breakfast?"

Nico looked up at him now, his eyes wide and his mouth parted, "Breakfast?" he questioned, sounding confused.

Will bit his lip, "Or dinner? Maybe?"

Nico stared at him for a long moment while Will began to redden. He glanced around, only slightly surprised to see half the wait staff crowed around the counter bluntly staring at them. Jason winked and popped his gum before throwing up a thumbs up.

Will looked back to Nico, who was starting to smile, just a bit.

"I…I could do breakfast." Nico finally told him, a little breathless. He had the very beginning of a smile curved around his cheeks, and his eyes were glowing with excitement.

"Wait, really?" Will grinned, boyish excitement coming over his features, "I mean, yeah, uh, text me and we can figure out a time." He smiled again and bounced on the balls of his feet.

Nico stood, clenching at the business card Will had given him, "I will."

Will ran a hand through his hair, "Maybe we can even get some pie, on me this time." He winked at Nico's red cheeks.

Nico let out a breath, "Well if it's on you…how could I resist?" At Will's surprised look he shot him a wicked smile, "I'm up for anything as long as it's on you."

All the shy and coy smiles were abandoned as Nico stood, wicked grin still in place, and tucked the card safely in the back of his pocket. "I have to get back to work, but I'll text you later." He told him, "And you should get home, maybe take a nap or something." Nico grinned a bit, "You look like death, slightly warmed over."

Will took a step back, letting Nico pass him so he could join the wait staff that was defiantly not looking anymore. Will snorted, "Coming from the Greek god of death, I guess that's saying something."

"Correction," Nico stopped, holding his hand up, "Thanatos is the Greek god of death, Hades is the Greek god of the Underworld."

Will fell a little more for him, right then and there.

"The more you know." He muttered under his breath, shooting a smile to Nico as he waved goodbye. He left with a grin, hopefully to catch that nap 'or something.' And, even more hopefully, to wake up from a text from Nico.


End file.
